Your Investments Should Work for Your Life, Not the Other Way Around
Independent, fiduciary investment management in Cedar Rapids and Marion — built around where you are and where you're headed, not a generic model portfolio.
A Portfolio That Reflects Your Actual Goals
Most people's investments accumulated over decades — a 401(k) here, a rollover there, maybe a brokerage account opened years ago. At some point, the question stops being "how do I save more?" and starts being "is any of this set up correctly for what I actually need it to do?"
That's where we come in. At Clearview Financial Planning, investment management isn't a standalone service — it's built into your financial plan. The way we allocate your assets, the accounts we prioritize, the risk we take on, all of it connects back to your goals, your timeline, and what you need this money to do. A 58-year-old approaching retirement gets a fundamentally different strategy than a 42-year-old still in the accumulation phase. That's not an accident — that's the point.
Contact Us Today
Investment management works best when it's connected to a real plan — not applied on top of one. If you're not sure your current portfolio reflects where you are in life, or you've been doing it yourself and want a professional set of eyes, we're glad to take a look. The first conversation is free, and there's no obligation to move forward.
Independent Advice With Transparent Compensation
If you've ever wondered whether your advisor is recommending something because it's right for you or because it pays them more, that's a fair question — and it deserves a straight answer.
Ryan is an independent, fiduciary advisor. That means his compensation doesn't change based on which investments he recommends. While Ryan holds certain industry registrations and affiliations required to serve clients — including SEC or state investment advisor registration — none of those relationships create incentives that pull against your interests. The only measure of a good recommendation here is whether it serves your plan.
That independence matters most when markets get complicated, when a product salesperson might be tempting, or when the easy answer isn't the right one. You deserve advice that's built around your situation — not someone else's revenue model.
How We Approach Investment Management
Investment management at Clearview runs through these core areas. Each one is integrated with your broader financial plan — not treated as a separate function.
Asset Allocation Planning
We build your portfolio around your timeline, income needs, and risk tolerance — not a one-size-fits-all model. For pre-retirees and retirees especially, asset allocation is one of the most consequential decisions in your financial picture, and it should be revisited as your circumstances change.
Tax-Efficient Investing
Where you hold assets matters as much as what you hold. We coordinate investment decisions with your tax situation — including which accounts to draw from first in retirement, how to minimize unnecessary capital gains, and how to position assets across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts.
Integration with Retirement Income Planning
For clients approaching or already in retirement, your portfolio isn't just a number — it's the source of your income. We connect your investment strategy directly to your retirement income plan, whether that involves a bucket approach, an income floor, or a systematic withdrawal strategy.
401(k) Rollovers and Account Consolidation
If you're leaving an employer or retiring, a 401(k) rollover is one of the most important financial decisions you'll make. We help you evaluate your options, understand the tax implications, and move assets in a way that fits your plan.
Ongoing Portfolio Monitoring and Rebalancing
Markets move. Life changes. Your portfolio should respond to both. We monitor your investments on an ongoing basis and rebalance when your allocation drifts from where it should be — keeping your strategy aligned with your plan over time.
Built for the Do-It-Yourself Investor Who's Ready for a Second Opinion
A lot of our clients managed their own investments for years — and did it well. They're not looking to hand everything over to someone else. They're looking for a professional to review what they've built, identify what they might be missing, and help coordinate the pieces as their financial picture gets more complex.
If that sounds familiar, we work with a lot of people in exactly that position. The shift from accumulation to distribution — from saving to actually using the money — introduces a layer of complexity that catches many capable investors off guard. Tax sequencing, Social Security timing, Medicare coordination, required minimum distributions: these don't have to be overwhelming, but they do require a plan. We can be that resource without making you feel like you've lost control of your own finances.
Frequently Asked Questions About Investment Management in Cedar Rapids
What does it mean to be a fiduciary investment advisor?
A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest, not their own. As a fiduciary advisor, Ryan is obligated to recommend what's right for your situation — not what pays him more or what his firm prefers. That standard applies to every recommendation we make.How is Clearview compensated for investment management?
We operate as a fee-based advisory firm. Our compensation is transparent and disclosed upfront. That structure removes the conflict of interest that exists at many larger firms.Do I have to hand over all my accounts to work with you?
Not necessarily. Some clients bring everything to us for full management. Others want a second opinion on what they already have. We're flexible about how we engage, and we'll tell you clearly what makes sense for your situation before any commitment is made.How is your investment management different from what I'd get at a bank or wirehouse?
At a bank or wirehouse, advisors often work from a limited menu of proprietary products and may face internal pressure to recommend certain options. As an independent, fiduciary advisor, Ryan has no such constraints. Your portfolio is built from the full market of options that fit your plan — not a curated shelf.What's included in investment management at Clearview?
Investment management includes asset allocation planning, ongoing portfolio monitoring and rebalancing, tax-efficient investing coordination, and integration with your full financial plan — including retirement income strategy, Social Security analysis, and distribution planning. It's not a standalone service. It connects to everything else.Do you work with clients outside of Cedar Rapids and Marion?
The majority of families we work with live in the Eastern Iowa area, we do have clients across the country — we serve clients throughout the Cedar Rapids metro area, including Hiawatha, as well as the Iowa City corridor and surrounding communities. If you're in Eastern Iowa and looking for independent, fiduciary investment advice, we're glad to have a conversation.
What to Expect When You Work With Us
We serve more than 750 families across the Cedar Rapids metro, Marion, and the Iowa City corridor. Our clients include pre-retirees weighing pension decisions and Social Security timing, retirees converting savings into reliable income, and mid-career professionals who've done the basics and want a clear path forward.
Ryan holds a CFP® designation and an MBA, and brings more than 15 years of financial planning experience — including more than a decade serving this specific market. Every client relationship starts with a full financial planning conversation before any investment recommendations are made. That's not a formality. It's how we make sure the advice we give is actually connected to your life.
We're local — born and raised in this community — and we're independent. Those two things together mean you're getting advice from someone who understands this market and has no outside pressure shaping what they tell you.
